Active 1812-1815 Role transportation | Country British Canada | |
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Branch British Army (1812-1813)British Commissariat Department (1813-1815) | ||
The Corps of Canadian Voyageurs was raised in September 1812, by the British Army, as a military water transportation corps. Its mission was to maintain the supply lines, between Montreal and the western posts. The corps was disbanded in March 1813, and its mission was taken over, by the Canadian branch, of the British Commissariat Department, a department of HM Treasury, as the Provincial Commissariat Voyageurs. This corps was disbanded in March, 1815.
Contents
Organization
The Corps of Voyageurs was organized on the initiative of the North West Company, and its bourgeois and engagés became the officers and men of the corps. The Provincial Commissariat Voyageurs had one lieutenant-colonel, one major, one captain, ten lieutenants, ten conductors (sergeants acting as guides), and about 400 private men.
Uniform
The army wanted to put the corps into uniform, but that was impractical due to its duties. Instead of a uniform the men of the corps wore the dress of the ordinary civilian voyageurs.
Weapons
The Army-issued, swords, pikes, and pistols, were impractical, and they were thrown away or sold, and the men used their own frontier weapons, rifles, axes, and knives.
Discipline
The Corps was known for its lack of discipline, at least, in comparison, with the iron discipline, required by the British Army. However, it fulfilled an absolutely essential function, in the "wilderness war".
Honours
The Canadian Grenadier Guards perpetuates the honours of both corps.